Can opener



Aug. 18, 1925. 1,549,930

A. J. TANNER cm OPENER Filed Mat h 15, 1923 I. m" 2 22 J! 7 why 1 Patented Aug. 18, i925.

UNITE s r AnnoLn J. TANNER, or nonrrr HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

CAN OPENER.

Application filed March 15, 1923.

To all to 7mm it may concern..-

Be it known that I, ARNOLD J. TANNER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of North Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Can 0peners, of which the fol lowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to tools for opening cans or tins containing preserved food, and the object of the invention is to provide an efficient and simple tool which may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost and which tool may be operated with safety by an operator without the requirement of other than ordinary skill and without exertion of the degree of force heretofore necessary when using the majority of tools of this kind that have previously been put on the market.

The invention is particularly applicable to a type of tool which is employed to open cans by taking the top off by cutting around thesides of the can. Can-openers of this type have previously been proposed, and a good example of a can-opener of this kind is disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1, l74,06t, E. J. Boyler, assignor, dated November 13, .1923. When comparing the present tool with this previously known can-opener, it willbe seen that the two articles have in common a body comprising a head and a handle. portion and an intervening connecting shank. In both cases the head portion ofthe tool is provided with a surface at right angles to the blade and which surface acts as a fulcrum for the blade. Located parallel with the blade there is a guide member which serves to guide the blade during the cutting operation.

The improved tool constructed in accordance with the present invention has all the above features, only in each instance the different features or members have each been designed to not only improve the appearance of the tool but also to render the tool more efficient and to facilitate the manufacture thereof. Furthermore the improved tool has the additional device and means for rendering the same operative whereby the initial penetration of the blade into the can is effected under a leverage action, which is an important feature for it renders a tool, such as described in the aforesaid Boyler patent, much more efiicient. The novel features of this invention will Serial No. 625,338.

be hereinafter fully described and defined, and also illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the complete improved tool;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the relative position of the cutting blade or member in the different positions of the tool during the operation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the reverse side of the improved can-opener;

Fig. 4 is an elevation showing one edge of the improved tool; 1

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 55 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing an alternative method of securing the blade.

Referring to the said drawings, the improvedv tool comprises the body portion which is made in one piece, preferably a malleable-iron casting, but this body may be a drop-forging because the design thereof is such that it may be readily forged instead of being cast. This body has a head portion 1, and ahan dle portion 2 connected by an intermediate shank portion 3. The said head and handle are both in the form of a skeleton frame, which in the case of the head is particularly advantageous because being open, inspection and cleaning of the tool is facilitated. The handle 2 in the form of a skeleton frame, provides a very strong and rigid but light handle, and to permit employing a'handle of the minimum lightness the said frame or handle 2 is reinforced by braces 4. which desirably represent letters or other characters so as to be useful for marking identity or for advertising purposes.

The blade member 5 of the tool is seated on the inner end of the head adjacent to the shank of the body and said blade lies along side the head 1. Besides providing a support for the blade, said head also provides a covering guard for the blade and a guide for the tool. The seat for the blade in cludes the slight elevation 6 having the lugs 7 and to provide, with-out machining, a perfectly level bearing surface between these lugs for the blade, the cavity 8 is formed to allow for shrinkage in the casting of the body.

The blade member is shaped and has sharpened edges so that the tool, with a single blade member, can be conveniently employed in both horizontal and vertical positions of operation, respectively, for cutting off the end of the can and for cutting outthe top of the can. Furthern'iore to obtain the best result, the cutting edge and point of the blade must lie in a definite relation with a pair of lugs projecting laterally from the head of the tool and which lugs constitute a major and a minor fulcrum for the tool. The minor fulcrum, is brought into action only at the starting point when the tool is used in the horizontal position and the major fulcrum is operative in both the horizontal and vertical positions.

The same cutting edge 8 is used in both the horizontal and vertical operating positions of the tool and to facilitate penetration of the point 9, in either operative position and also back cutting in the horizontal position, the back of the blade is sharpened at 10.

The blade 5 has a straight and restricted portion 11 between the shoulders 12 and hook 123 and which restricted portion 11 11179 between the lugs 7 and these lugs are upset or wedged so as to secure the blade in its seat and said shoulders 12 and hook 13 keep the blade in place when it is once secured.

It will be noted the projection or hook 13, in conjunction with the aforesaid major fulcrum 1 1 also performs the additional function as a bottle decappin device, as shown in Fig. 3 in broken lines. The decapping operation is facilitated by curving the portion 15 of the head 1 so that the same cannot bear on the crown cap 16 on the near side during the decapping operation, to cause a leverage action which is ineffective for the purpose of removing the cap.

In the horizontal operation of the tool for opening cans, it is first required that the point of the blade should be inserted into the side of the can. hen using a tool, such as that which forms the subject of the Boyler patent hereinbefore referred tothe point of the blade must be inserted through direct force applied by the operator, necessitating use of considerable strength, and otherwise the operation is difficult, and besides this there exists the danger that the tool will slip and injure the hand of the operator.

With the present invention the initial operation of effecting penetration of the blade into the can is effected under great leverage obtained by engagement of the and for said minor fulcrum 17 with the rim 18 of the can 19, and with such means the operation is easily effected and with absolute safety.

In Fig. 2, the horizontal operation of the tool, both in the initial or penetrating operation and in the cutting operation is diagrammatically shown. Herein the operative member, shown in full lines, is in the position of blade 0. wherein the minor fulcrum 17 has engaged the rim 18 of the can. The first movement is to swing the tool on this fulcrum so that the tool will bring the blade into the position of the blade 6 as shown in broken lines. In this position the point of the blade has penetrated the can. The next operation is to push the blade into the can until it assumes the position of the blade 0 with the major fulcrum 1 1 engaging the can. The cutting of the can is then effected by bringing the blade into the position shown by blade d and which latter movement of the blade is about the fulcrum 14, which, at the end of the cutting stroke is in the position (Z. It will be noted that the fulcrum lug 17 moves along the top of the can during the various positions of the blade and this further helps the head in guiding the movement of the tool. This fulcrum 17 as sumes various positions as shown and which positions are indicated by letters corresponding to the lettering of the blade in the relative position, for example, a?) is the position the lug 17 is in when the blade is in positions a and 6, cl is the position of the lug for the position 65 and c of the blade is the position of the lug 17 for position 0 of the blade. Further it will be noted, the engage meut in position 0 limits the position of the blade when pushed into the can for the next stroke. It may be here noted this limitation varies according to the size and shape of the can.

It will be seen in Fig. 5 that the fulcrum 1 1 is hooked or turned down and this hooked end enables the fulcrum to more closely fit the rim of the can so as to provide a better grip and furthermore this hooked fulcrum, which is extended laterally as shown in Fig. 4, beyond the blade 5, performs a useful purpose when the tool is used in the vertical position to out out the top of a can, for in this mode of operation, the hooked and extended fulcrum will engage the top of the rim of the can and thus effectually guide the cutting operation of the blade.

In Fig. 7 a modified method of securing the blade is shown, and herein instead of swedging the lugs 77, so as to hold the blade, these lugs are utilized only as stops for the blade which is secured by the screw. 20 or if preferred a rivet may be employed. In either case, the seat has the hole 21 there through to receive the securing means and the protruding end of the screw or rivet is conveniently housed within the cavity 22.

In summing up the invention hereinbefore described it may be gathered that the im proved tool has many advantages over tools of this kind previously proposed or designed. First of all, the body of this improved tool is well balanced and neat in appearance and by such means the tool is rendered more or less attractive. The body of the tool is of such a shape that it is conveniently held in the hand, and other advantages are derived by adopting the shape substantially as shown. Furthermore, the shape of the body is such that the profile or contour thereof lends itself to polishing or otherwise finishing the tool, the lines of which are such there being no irregularities, most of the surface of the tool may be ground 011 a wheel with very little difficulty. The blade or operative member is designed so that it may be easily be blanked out and properly finished, and besides this the blade is designed so that it can be easily secured and retained in the proper position so that the point and the cutting edge thereof will always he held in a determinate location with relation to the fulcrum means employed respectively for the penetrating and the cutting operations of the blade.

Various modifications may be made in this invention which would not depart from the spirit thereof, and it is intended that the appended claims shall cover any modification which comes fairly within the terms thereof. I

I claim:

1. A tool of the class described having a handle, a head, a blade, a seat on said head for said blade, separate end and intermediate lugs extending laterally from said head arranged substantially in alignment with said seat and adapted to operate respectively as minor and major fulcrums for the tool.

2. A can-opening tool having a handle, a head, a connecting shank, a blade, a seat on said shank for said blade, an end lug extending laterally from the free end of said head, an intermediate lug extending laterally from said head and located between and substantially in alignment with said seat and said end lug, and said end and intermediate lugs being arranged to operate respectively as minor and major fulcrums, as set forth.

3. A tool as described having a handle, a head and a connecting shank, a blade secured on said shank so as to lie substantially parallel and in alignment with and within said head, an intermediate lug operating as a fulcrum for said tool projecting at right angles to said head, a separate or end lug located on the free end of said head substantially in alignment with said shank and said end lug providing a fulcrum for the tool in the initial operation thereof.

4. A tool as described having a handle, a head and a connecting shank, a blade secured to said shank so as to lie parallel with said head, a fulcrum surface for the tool concentric with the cutting edge of said blade and a separate lug located at the end of said head adapted to operate as a fulcrum to effect initial penetration of said blade under a leverage action.

5. A tool of the character described, having a handle, a head and a connecting shank, said head having a lateral off-set relatively to said shank, a blade secured to said shank so as to lie parallel with said head, means on said shank for securing said blade, an extended fulcrum surface for the tool concentric with the cutting edge of said blade and a separate lug located beyond the end of said fulcrum surface adjacent to the free end of said blade and adapted to operate as a fulcrum to effect initial penetration of said blade under a leverage action.

Signed at New Haven, in the county of New Haven, and State of Connecticut, this 14th day of March, A. D. 1923.

ARNOLD J. TANNER. 

